12:30 AM ET On Wednesday, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols to discuss returning to practice, his relationship with head coach Tom Thibodeau and his future with the organization. An edited transcript of the interview appears below: Nichols: You returned to practice for the first time with
NBA
9:36 PM ET Former coach Fred “Tex” Winter, who pioneered the triangle offense that propelled the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to multiple NBA championships, died Wednesday at the age of 96, the Bulls confirmed. Winter began his coaching career as an assistant at Kansas State in 1947 before a two-year stint at Marquette,
7:28 PM ET Orlando Magic rookie center Mo Bamba said he sustained a bruised wrist against the Miami Heat on Monday but that an MRI showed no damage. He won’t play in Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “We’re just trying to be as precautionary as possible,” Bamba told OrlandoMagic.com. Bamba was the sixth overall
12:00 AM ET This story appears in ESPN The Magazine’s NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today! On a Monday morning in Tokyo’s chic Harajuku district, I meet three-time All-Star and three-time champion Draymond Green outside a bustling train station and begin a stroll down the busy, bizarre and impossibly pink Takeshita Street, a shopping haven for
3:25 PM ET There was no debating the artistry of a move made by Houston Rockets guard James Harden during a preseason game against the Shanghai Sharks on Tuesday night, but it did stir up some debate as to whether or not it was traveling. The NBA on Wednesday said no and that Harden’s move
4:59 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN All-Star Jimmy Butler made a dramatic return to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, boldly challenging teammates, coaches and front office executives in the session, league sources told ESPN. Butler was vociferous and intense throughout scrimmage sessions, targeting president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau, general manager Scott Layden and
3:00 PM ET Gordon Hayward says he is managing back soreness that was getting “progressively worse” as the Boston Celtics forward prepared for the regular-season opener next week. Hayward, who did not play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Cleveland Cavaliers, told reporters Wednesday that his back has bothered him in the past but that
2:17 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Philadelphia 76ers franchise center Joel Embiid has signed a five-year footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Under Armour. The average annual value of the deal is expected to make the 7-foot All-Star the highest-paid player at his position, industry sources told ESPN’s Nick DePaula. Getty Images Embiid’s status as a
7:30 AM ET When Kevin Love picked up his phone on July 1 after the announcement, he ended his message to LeBron James with: “I love you.” He said it again last month when the two former teammates got together in New York and Love got the chance to say it to James’ family as
12:00 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Philadelphia 76ers franchise center Joel Embiid has signed a five-year deal with Under Armour that is expected to make him the highest-paid player at his position. But the reason why, Embiid says, goes beyond money or sneakers. As part of the deal, Embiid and Under Armour will partner not just